Icicles In Her Eyes
by kim-loves-kurama
Summary: When a mission sends our beloved ice shinobi, Touya, to kill a large neko youkai, he stumbles upon a strange girl. Who is this girl? And why is he so anxious to get to know her? NOTE: There is NO yaoi whatsoever in this fiction!


**Chapter 1**

**Natsumi, the Wounded**

"You stupid wench! Damn you, girl!"

A sickening cry made the house shake. There was a large thump as a body struck the floor. The sound of ripping paper echoed throughout the forest. Blood splashed against the white walls as a figure was thrown through the house. Again a voice that made the village tremble roared up. "You're nothing! You're worthless to me!" There was a sharp snap like a whip cracking over the head of a horse that was too stubborn to move. A whimper soon followed the shouting of an older man.

"F-father. Please, I beg you. Stop it. Leave me al…" The soft, fearful voice was broken by a shrill scream as a loud smack was heard. There came a horrible caterwaul from the inside of the house and the sound of more ripping paper from the walls echoed throughout the still forest. The neighbors too afraid or timid to help the prisoner inside. There was a long silence before the sound of heavy steps cracked the stillness yet again. Finally, everything went quiet. The only thing that could be heard was the soft sobbing of a girl who was trapped like a caged animal, searching for the family she had lost long ago.

Touya sighed and looked around the forest. "Come on, where are you?" He searched through the trees, hoping to spot his prey. He crossed his arms and grumbled to himself. "Jin you had to blow it away didn't you?" He shook his head, remembering the wind shinobi blowing a bobcat demon right towards the forest boarding a village. "Honestly, sometimes I wonder what Jin's thinking."

A sudden noise made Touya stop. He stared through the trees, his eyes trying to pierce through the shadows and spot the figure that had caught his attention. Slowly, the ice master crept through the woods, his feet barely making a sound upon the soft grass. He wove his way between the trees as silent as a cat; the only sound that he could not control was the beating of his heart as he closed in upon his target. Touya manipulated ice crystals into his palm and stared through the undergrowth. His form was completely hidden in the shadows, making him seem almost invisible. He bunched up his muscles like a tiger ready to spring. With a huge leap the shinobi dashed out of his hiding place. He was ready to blow his shards right at the figure that had caught his attention when a gasp made him lose his balance. He went tumbling to the ground; his body rolling head over heals as he came to a stop at the bottom of a tree trunk.

Touya, dazed and enraged at his own mistake and the figure's movement, leapt to his feet. He almost fainted when he saw whom he had almost crashed into. It was a young mortal girl. She was wearing a black tank top with the kanji symbol for "tiger" upon the front. She had a pair of baggy jeans hanging upon her hips and coming to a halt as they reached the top of her bare feet and her heel. Long brown hair twirled around her as the wind blew it; taking each strand within its power and making them drag across the girl's face. Her eyes shone in a very soft brown color. She had tan, dark skin from being out in the sun and a necklace that had a ruby gem within it, hung from her neck.

Touya had to mentally slap himself. The anger had completely faded from his mind as he laid his eyes upon this girl. The sound of her voice cracked Touya's thoughts. "Can I help you with something?" Her tone was harsh and cold. Touya shook his head, trying to clear up his jumbled thoughts.

"Uh, no. I mean, um… Did you see a large cat come through this way?" Touya stammered. He was in awe at this girl. She had a beautiful appearance but it appeared that she had a temper worse than Hiei's.

The girl snorted and crossed her arms over her chest. "No, besides a blue haired freak, I have seen no one here."

Touya was taken aback. _"Blue haired freak! She doesn't mean me does she? Of course she means me!"_ He stared right at her, his eyes locked with hers. "I'm sorry for annoying you. I did not mean to," his voice was hinted with his anger. She had no right to insult him when he had done nothing to her.

"Sure you didn't. Run along blue-boy. Go back to the circus."

Touya was about to counter her verbal attack when suddenly a black blur caught his eye. A large cat was standing before the ice master. It had a pitch-black coat as dark as the ocean's deepest waters. Burning, red eyes glowed as it gazed at Touya with a lusting look in its eye. It's claws unsheathed to be like huge daggers stabbing into the very earth. There, in the cat's huge jaws, was the girl that had Touya's head spinning.

Before Touya could do anything, the cat dashed through the forest and vanished within its shadows. Touya gasped and rushed to follow it. His feet slapped the ground as he pushed himself onward. He had to save the girl. Even though she was a brat he had to rescue her from the youkai. He wove through the trees and bulleted over logs and other such obstacles as fast as he could. He had to reach the youkai before…

Suddenly, a shrill yowl erupted from the forest. Touya sped up and soon immerged through the underbrush to find the youkai lying upon its side, blood gushing from its head. For a few seconds Touya feared the blood belonged to the girl, whom he had still not received a name from her. He felt his heart skip as a figure immerged from the other side of the large cat youkai. It was her. Touya let out a sigh of relief. He was glad to see her unharmed. He rushed towards her. It was then that he spotted a piece of broken bamboo in her hand, blood dripped from the end of it. The girl shook her head and threw down the weed. "Stupid big cat. I hope it rots in hell."

Touya was once again awed by her attitude. She was one tough cookie. He was about to ask for her name when a growl from the cat made him jump and forget his words. The youkai rose to its feet, the blood dripping from its head and making its eyes turn a even brighter crimson than before. It snarled and spat at the girl. Slowly the cat began to place on paw in front of the other. It's shoulders moved up and down as it crouched low, encircling its' prey. The girl just stood motionless. Touya thought at first that the youkai had somehow put her into a trance. He began to use his youki to make ice slowly curl around his hand.

In mid-transformation, the girl lunged towards the bamboo stick. The cat yowled and dashed after her. Touya gasped as he spotted the girl snatch the bamboo, just as she had spun around the giant neko was almost upon her. It's claws outstretched, ready to slice through her flesh. Touya bolted towards her and, using all of his speed, knocked her out of the way. They both went tumbling over the forest floor. The girl let out a gasp of surprise as she slid into a tree and the breath was knocked out of her. Touya immediately recovered and ran to her side. "Are you alright?" he kneeled down beside her and offered her a hand.

"Behind you, you baka!" she screamed. She tackled Touya just as claws struck the ground where he had been a second before. Touya, stunned and dazed, looked at the girl in astonishment and then at the youkai that had snuck up behind him. It snarled and showed its fangs to both of them. Before Touya could do anything it raised its paw again and slashed through the air, the claws coming right towards the two figures upon the ground. Faster than the eye could follow, the girl grabbed a piece of bark from the ground and swung it in front of her. She winced as the claws collided with the wood and blew her back. She muttered some curse words before leaping to her feet and charging at the youkai. The girl grasped the bamboo that had been lying upon the side of the clearing. She leapt into the air and flung herself down at the creature. Pointing the sharp, dagger-like end at the youkai's chest, she plunged it deep into the heart.

The youkai yowled and snarled once as blood flowed from the wound and its mouth. It hissed groggily and then collapsed onto its side. Its red eyes glazed over as it confirmed its own death. The girl was standing on top of it, a proud look in her eyes. Touya's jaw hung open. He had been in complete awe at how fast the mere ningen had destroyed the youkai that had almost killed him. He got to his feet and brushed off his shirt, which had some dirt still on it, and walked towards the girl. "That was… impressive." His tone gave away his amazement to her.

The girl swung her head around to glare at Touya. "Why are you so surprised? Don't think a girl can take one of these bastards down?" Her voice was dripping with anger as she glared coldly at the shinobi.

Touya winced at her gaze. He knew he had said the wrong thing. "I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, I mean I didn't think that a ningen like you could…"

He was interrupted by the girl's fierce voice. "That's right you didn't think! I can take care of myself, I don't need you to watch over me." She was glaring right at him, her brown eyes like the arctic wind as they pierced through Touya.

He tried again to apologize but yet again it came out wrong. "Whatever, think before you talk you baka." She had walked towards him and now that he was so close to her he realized her dark complexion had some blue marks upon it. Her eye had a ring that he had missed from a far away distance since her hair had been in her face. The ring was black and her eye was puffy and red as if she had been crying. Touya wondered if she was all right. She looked as if she had been in a fight recently and had obviously not gotten out of it without a blow or two.

"My name's Touya by the way," Touya said, slowly snapping out of his daze. He couldn't stop looking at all the bruises that covered the girl's skin, however. It was almost painful to gaze at.

The girl looked at him and placed her hands upon her hips. "My name's Takaiya Natsumi." She turned her gaze back to the youkai and spit in disgust. Without looking at Touya she walked past him. She had a cold eye that made him almost wince. He was only trying to be kind to her, why was she being so hostile to him?

"It's nice to meet you Natsumi-chan," Touya stated.

Suddenly, Natsumi spun around. "Don't you dare call me that like you're my friend!" She gave him a final glare before taking off in the darkness of the forest, leaving the ice shinobi stunned, gazing after her.


End file.
